


I See

by duisarcus



Category: Original Work
Genre: Dragons, F/F, Family, Fantasy, Fluff, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 14:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19703179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duisarcus/pseuds/duisarcus
Summary: Nyn is just a hedgewitch, a glorified herbalist, and she most certainly didn't sign up for this.





	I See

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually written for a school project, but I really liked it :D

Nyn hummed to herself, muttering the names of little landmarks as she passed to keep track of her path. The trees grew close-set and dense, nearly impossible to tell apart without long familiarity with the area. Even with her decade of living here, Nyn knew better than to hare off without marking her way, lest she end up having to climb a tree and pray it was high enough to see where she was – _again._

She only needed a few things; a few mushrooms that only grew beneath gilt willows, which she was still regretfully unable to coax into taking root back in her greenhouse at home. Finicky things, with very particular soil and light needs, and silverbell mushrooms wouldn’t grow for anything else. Nyn firmly believed it was the faeries who got the gilt willows in the forest to grow as well as they did in the first place, since she had done everything she could think of to duplicate the conditions exactly and _still_ had no results to speak of.

But regardless, she had to have the silverbell mushrooms, and since they wouldn’t grow at home she was instead stuck pushing her way through briar and brush to find the specific little grove. The forest was surprisingly quiet for this time of day, a gentle buzz of insects in the background rather than their usual cacophony. She had promised Rhis she’d make silverbell soup for his son’s birthday, and unfortunately her stock of silverbell mushrooms had gone off just a few days ago. 

“The things I do for a pair of puppy eyes.” Nyn sighed, shuffling through a particularly treacherous patch of thick brush, the ground beneath it pitted and rocky. She couldn’t see the terrain so she scuffed her feet along the earth, hoping to avoid any holes or lumps that would end with a twisted ankle. One particularly hard scuff - more of a kick, if she were to be honest with herself - knocked something heavy forward. It didn’t get much lift and it felt more like it rolled, and Nyn rolled her eyes along with it as she tried to feel her way around what was most likely an oversized rock hidden under the leaves and stems. One close call with a sneaky pothole later and she was free, only slightly the worse for wear. She had even managed to keep her pants from tearing in the process, which was a rarity on her trips out here. 

The grove of gilt willows were only a few yards further, thankfully, and she marched her way over with little fanfare to comb their roots for silverbell mushrooms. At least they were close enough to in season that there should be _some_ out, enough for Driny’s birthday dinner at least. The child needed it, with his mother off to Coldbrook to see the physician again. It only took the work of a few minutes to find enough full sized silverbell mushrooms, and Nyn packed them neatly into her pouch before turning to head back, glancing up to see if it was worth trying to determine the position of the sun from beneath the canopy. Enough sunlight filtered down to illuminate patches of the ground, catching on mica flecked stones half buried in leaf litter. A particularly glittery one caught her eye, drawing her over.

It was early enough yet that she could spare a moment to indulge childish curiosity for shiny things, she justified, though she couldn’t genuinely tell exactly how much time had passed. She crouched next to the stone, nudging it to watch it sparkle in the shaft of sunlight for a moment before giving in to the urge to take it. It was still mostly crusted in leaf litter and dirt, but she could easily clean it off once she was home. It wasn’t as if she had anyone to chastise her for it, after all, and who cared if the witch added one more crystal to her collection? The townsfolk didn’t mind her proclivities towards the magical, but they certainly didn’t understand it, so on the off chance someone asked she could wave it off as something beyond their understanding rather than admitting she liked colorful things as much as the next moon-addled fool did. 

She hefted the stone, considering its warm weight in her palm for a moment before patting down her vest and pants for an empty pocket large enough to house it. Finding one, she slid it in with a triumphant little _ha,_ promptly forgetting about it as she picked her way back through the thick brush and headed towards home. 

* * *

Nyn set the stone on her countertop as she filled a bowl with warm water, the silverbell mushrooms already hung up to dry after being washed thoroughly. Just because wild animals tended to shy from gilt willows, bitter as they were, didn’t mean Driny would appreciate dirt in his birthday meal. Six years old and about vocal as it gets about his dislikes, she thought fondly, plopping the stone into the bowl to soak off some of the filth. And one of those dislikes was dirt in all its forms, which was an amusing quirk for a child his age to develop. Rhis certainly had a different difficulty than most parents when it came to bath time - namely, convincing Driny he didn’t need a second one of the day rather than having to wrestle his son into the tub in the first place. 

Leaving the stone to soak, Nyn bustled about, straightening up the mess she’d made this morning getting ready to go out. Her skirt she’d been stitching up left over the back of the chair went back into the basket of mending, the remains of her breakfast utensils were washed and put away. Her wire brush was found under a pile of shoes, to her confusion, and rinsed off and set beside the sink for later when she would get around to scrubbing the stone clean. The dish of treated water she’d set out for the standoffish cat who liked to come around was rinsed clean and set out again, hopefully getting a large enough dose of scaled thistle extract in her to prevent a litter this season. She was a _hedgewitch,_ not a sanctuary for unwanted pets, and her tiny home was nowhere near enough to house yet another litter of kittens, no matter how much the cat liked to sleep in her clean laundry. 

A wary poke at the stone showed it had been sitting long enough for the leaf litter to begin to flake off, peeling away in clumps to reveal a somewhat more even but just as filthy rock surface beneath it all. The stone was curiously smooth, appearing to be rather uniform in shape. Scooping it out of the water and brushing as much of the dirt off as she could, Nyn dampened the wire brush and began to scrub at the surface. She didn’t mind if it ended up scratched; she knew how to polish stones and crystals, and she wasn’t planning to cut it down or mount it at any point so she had no need to preserve its surface integrity. Scrubbing diligently, Nyn managed to get most of the leaf litter and caked on dirt loosened enough that a few rinses should get it cleaned, and then all it would take is a bit of wiping down and some polish to have to ready to set up on her windowsill alongside all her other rescued stones and crystals. 

The first pass through a clean bowl of water didn’t throw up alarm bells; the stone was a bit shinier, the color a bit richer under the layer of filth, but it was otherwise completely normal. The next few layers however, revealed a depth and complexity to the color that no stone had. Nyn’s breath caught in surprise as she pulled free not a particularly stubborn piece of leaf, but an oiled leather pouch, waterproofed and wound tight around what she realized now was most definitely a dragon’s egg of some sort. Setting the pouch aside for the moment, she finished rinsing the stone- the _egg,_ and laid it on a cloth to dry. It must be near its hatch date, if it was able to survive out in the elements - that, or it was no longer viable, and she now had what amounted to a very pretty ornament. 

Turning her attention from the mesmerizing colors of the egg, Nyn dried her hands off and carefully picked the knot holding the oilskin closed apart, unwinding it and doing her best to keep the lingering dampness and mud from getting on whatever was within the protective cover. 

Inside was a note, a bit smudged from its bath but otherwise intact, thanks to the rather high quality oiled leather it had been stored in. Nyn quietly read it, taking in the sharp, jagged lettering and the unnecessary pressure that had been put on the nib by the writer, a clear indication that the author had written it as their emotions ran high. 

_To my Dearest,_

_I do not make this decision lightly. I have been pushed past the breaking point, and I cannot abide what has been done._

_I_ _shall not forget, and I shall not forgive._

_Were I given a better choice, the responsible parties would be dead by my hand and you, my precious Kin, would be safe. Unfortunately, I am left with naught but this. Rage, and a knowledge that I shall bear this hatred in my heart until the day I die._

_Until the day I have either succeeded or I have died, I am forever with you in heart._

_Live for me, Kin._

Nyn blinked down at the paper, rather nonplussed. This was certainly more _dramatic_ than she had expected to encounter on a regular excursion to gather mushrooms. Nevertheless, she was left with an egg she should candle to check for signs of life and a letter professing _someone’s_ undying hatred and vow of vengeance, and one of those was much easier to handle than the other. She set the letter aside and got up to find herself a candle, the beeswax stub she most often used for incidents like this. It was unscented and easy to light, and it was perfectly serviceable despite being burned down nearly to a stub by this point. She pulled the curtains shut to darken the room and lit the candle, scooping the egg up to cup it carefully above the flame and peer through the thick shell. It took some twisting and squinting, but she was fairly certain she could see a knot of shadow where the light was unable to penetrate what she _hoped_ was the live dragonlet. 

As far as Nyn could tell, the dragonlet was in there and _was_ mostly grown, filling out the majority of the shell encasing it. Blowing out the candle and pulling the curtains open again, she turned the egg in her hands thoughtfully, wondering if it would hatch without any interference from herself. She certainly hoped so, as she didn’t have the first idea as to what this particular dragonlet would need to hatch otherwise. She knew very little of dragon hatching, the majority of her knowledge coming from brief passages in books or her experience with more mundane eggs - such as the ones laid by Elory’s hens next door. 

Well, that was a problem to contemplate later. There was little she could do at the moment for it, and she had errands to run out in town. Nyn dusted her vest off and grabbed her bag from where she had dropped it in the corner next to her shoes. It was the work of moments to slip her boots back on and retie her hair from where wisps had escaped the quick updo she had it in. She had no one to impress with her appearance, no social norms to conform to. Witches were beyond that, as far as the townsfolk were concerned, and Nyn saw no reason to dissuade them when it meant she didn’t have to bother with changing out of her more practical clothing. _Lazy,_ her mother had said on more than one occasion, but she liked to think of it as being efficient. Fewer changes of clothing meant less laundry to do later, and less money she had to spend on various outfits, after all. 

She paused at the door, something niggling at her. Nyn waffled for a moment between stepping out and turning around, lips twisting as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. With a huff, she gave in to the impulse and scooped up the egg to drop it in one of her vest pockets, letting it settle as a somewhat awkward lump at her hip before leaving, shutting the door behind her firmly. The trip into town was a bit of a walk, but an easy one. The path was kept clear by herself and the more neighborly folk around, like Ardt and Enar down the road. She waved absently at the people bustling by, most everyone happy to be out and about on such a fine day. The sun was tempered by a few clouds and the remnants of spring chill, there were children screeching with laughter somewhere nearby, and someone was giving Nyn a look that brought on the urge to ward off the evil eye. 

That last one was a bit unusual, not only for how nice it was out but also because it was a stranger, who didn’t usually find a reason to come to Midbell, small as it was. Her death glare was certainly eye-catching, but it wasn’t exclusive to Nyn, so she didn’t let it get to her. Sometimes people were simply in foul moods and there was nothing to be done for it. 

The rest of the trip was completely uneventful, aside from Neev stopping her to ask if she could help with Tanel’s cough. The infant was sickly off and on, and Nyn did her best to keep up a regimen of treatments that would help Tanel make it past these first crucial months of her life. Nothing out of the ordinary though, and Nyn made it home none the worse for wear. She shucked her vest and bags the moment she stepped through the door, letting the bags drop where she stood and setting the vest down with marginally more care on the tabletop for the egg’s sake. 

It only took the work of a few moments to struggle out of her clothing and pull her sleep shift on, collapsing on her bed with a grumble and falling asleep within moments. 

* * *

Over the next few weeks, the egg followed Nyn as she went about her day-to-day, going on errands in her pockets and kept secure in a pouch on the days she ventured out into the forest for various herbs or to converse with the faeries. There was no logical purpose to this - the egg wasn’t kept close enough to her body to be providing any sort of warmth, but Nyn was a witch and not everything in this world of theirs had a logical reason. Perhaps the dragonlet wanted company before it hatched, or perhaps Nyn just liked the weight of it in her pocket. She didn’t dwell, preferring to put her attention towards her usual tasks - and towards taking note of every time the angry stranger happened to show up out and about. Furious amber eyes would track the people around her without fail, regardless of the setting. In the tavern, in the market, outside the single tiny inn Midbell boasted, even on the few occasions Nyn had seen her standing by the fountain in the square, arguably the hardest place to be angry at. She’d even seen the stranger glare at a _cat_ even as she was stooping to pet it. It was all rather amusing to watch, if she were being honest with herself, though the sheer number of times she’d seen the stranger was starting to get a bit concerning. 

Nyn idly rocked the egg where it sat on her desk in a little makeshift nest of socks, nominally to prevent it from rolling off if she were to bump it (though really it was more because she had been too lazy to pick the socks up off the desk first and it seemed as good a reason as any to justify leaving them there). A couple of weeks were a normal wait period for dragon eggs, but it was bordering on nearly a month since she had found it and though Nyn had been candling the egg every week or so to check on it, she was starting to wonder if perhaps it wasn’t viable after all. 

Shrugging, she turned back to her notes. One sheaf of papers was all sketches; she was trying to put together a field book of sorts and hopefully begin teaching the children in town what plants were edible, what were medicinal, and what were dangerous. Her artistry wasn’t the best but it was recognizable, which is really all they needed, as she’d have samples as well to show them for most of the plants she wanted to teach them about. Another stack was plans to expand her greenhouse again, as she had managed to get a clipping of a gilt willow from one of the faeries a few days ago that would, with any luck, finally take root. The one she was currently working on, though, was a bullet point list of every time she had encountered the angry stranger and where it had been. She had asked around, but it seemed despite the stranger’s regular presence, no one had actually spoken to her at any point. Not surprising, given the aura of nearly palpable rage she gave off, but it did make it all the more frustrating to try to figure out _why._

Maybe Nyn would ask next time she was out. Angry she may be, but she hadn’t shown any signs of being violent, so it was probably safe enough. Absently reaching out to pet the surface of the egg, Nyn wrote herself a note to try to ask the stranger’s name the next time she saw her, setting the pencil down when she was done and pausing when the hand on the egg _caught_ \- something sharp edged on the surface that wasn’t there a few minutes ago. Glancing over, Nyn’s breath caught when she saw the little cracked lump on what was an otherwise smooth eggshell. She carefully ran her hands over the egg, leaning in closer to listen with bated breath. 

A brilliant smile spread across her face when she heard the quiet, furious squeaking of an infant dragon beginning to pip. “Hello, little one,” she murmured, fingers dancing over the shell as she tilted the egg a bit so it was situated a bit more securely in the sock nest. There was a moment of silence when she spoke, before the squeaking started up again with a vengeance. 

Nyn laughed. “Quite a pair of lungs on you, hm? You’re going to be a handful once you’re out of there, I can feel it.” She pat the egg carefully and stood to stretch, spine cracking. The dragonlet could take up to a few days to emerge fully from the egg, the shell thick enough to protect it from the elements even as it neared the end of its gestation. She was looking forward to seeing the infant, even if she _did_ now have to hurry and finish dragonlet-proofing her home before it freed itself fully. 

Nyn groaned at the mental reminder, resigning herself to a whirlwind day or two as she hurriedly began picking up the mess of her house. Dragonlets were worse than human infants, smart enough to put their little paws on everything and everything in their mouths, but with the bonus ability to scale just about any surface their needle sharp claws could dig into and, after a couple of months, begin to glide from high vantage point to high vantage point. 

Her clothes were shoved into their basket to wash later, the clean ones hastily put in the wardrobe. She would sort them better later, once she was done with the rest of the house. The papers scattered around her room were gathered up into loose stacks and dropped on the desk next to the egg, which, after a moment’s contemplation, Nyn scooped up (sock nest and all) and dropped in the center of her bed. “Stay there,” she told it firmly, as if the dragonlet inside had a choice yet. 

She moved to the rest of the house, reshelving books and frantically combing through every single one of her herb bundles and pots and jars of salves and supplements and dried bits and bobs, locking anything that could possibly be dangerous for a dragonlet in the pantry and putting the rest on lower shelves. Height wouldn’t stop the infant from getting to them, so the smartest thing to do with a baby that could climb your cabinets was to place everything low enough that a fall wouldn’t damage either the container _or_ the curious baby. The cat’s dish of water and food was moved out of the corner and into plain sight, so Nyn could keep an eye on it and prevent the dragonlet from getting at it. 

The bathroom door was closed firmly and her toothbrush moved to a more secure position - she dropped it herself often enough as it was, the last thing she wanted was to have to fish it out of the toilet because of the dragonlet. The cold storage was cleaned out, and Nyn started making a mental list of what she’d need to buy to feed the baby. She’d have to get some livestock from someone, preferably rabbits or hens, and some eggs for the baby’s first couple weeks. Insects were all well and good for newly hatched dragonlets, but eggs were much richer and would help the infant put on weight. 

Nyn kept an eye on the egg as she changed into a pair of simple leggings and a tunic, her ever present vest going over it as she struggled to get her hair into some sort of bun to hide the fact that she hadn’t bothered to brush it out yet. Not much progress had been made yet, and Nyn felt sure enough that it wouldn’t be hatching out any time soon to go ahead and shove some money in her pouch and force her feet into her boots to head over to Inetia’s general store. She locked the door behind her and hurried down the path, waving absently to Enar as she passed. He just looked somewhat bemused by the rush, turning back to his garden as soon as she blew by. 

Nyn was careful not to let the door slam into the wall as she entered Inetia’s store despite her impatience. The shop was nearly empty at this point in the afternoon, just a few people stopping by to chat with Inetia or to grab a few forgotten things. Taking a corner just a bit too fast, Nyn nearly collided with someone, throwing out her hands last minute to stop herself from body slamming the unsuspecting patron. “Sorry! Sorry, excuse me,” she babbled, backpedalling. It was the angry stranger, who actually looked _less_ angry at the moment and more stunned, probably because Nyn was just the right height that she had nearly headbutted the poor woman’s chin, which would understandably startle just about anyone. “I wasn’t paying attention, my apologies!” 

The woman gaped at her for a moment, jaw working silently as she tried to figure out how to respond. “It’s... fine?” She finally got out, blinking rapidly at Nyn, who shot her an apologetic smile and scooted around her to reach the shelf of leather scraps. 

“I’ve seen you around a bit, but I haven’t introduced myself - I’m Nyn, I live up that way.” Nyn waved in the general direction of her home, picking through the strips of leather and doing a bit of mental calculations to approximate how much she would need to make a little harness for the dragonlet, and possibly some booties if necessary. 

“You’re the witch,” the woman stated, watching her go through the available pieces confusedly. “I’ve seen you a few times.” 

Nyn nodded distractedly, measuring the leather scraps against her forearm and frowning at them. They seemed to be good enough, hopefully the dragonlet didn’t grow _too_ quickly once it emerged. “I am! And you are?” She glanced at the woman out of the corner of her eye expectantly. It took a moment for the woman to realize what Nyn was asking for, and she looked a bit flustered when she responded, stumbling a bit. 

“I’m Adrae, I’ve been here for a few weeks. I’m looking for... someone.” She explained, that familiar pinch between her heavy brows that gave her such an aggressive look making a comeback. 

Unthinking, Nyn reached up to push at the spot, smoothing out the frown. “You should be careful with how much you make that face, you’ll get stuck like that.” She teased, laughing a bit at the wide eyed look she got in return. “I’m afraid I have to return, I have something at home that needs my supervision, but good luck finding whoever you’re looking for!” Nyn said cheerfully, heading up to where Inetia’s youngest was manning the counter, looking a bit sleepy but perking up at the prospect of something to do. 

Nyn waved goodbye to both Adrae and Yomi and headed out, stepping over the shop cat before the mischievous thing could trip her and heading towards Elory’s place. Elory was more than happy to sell her a few dozen eggs, not even stopping to ask why the witch would need so many. The people in town may have known Nyn since she was a child, but they still enjoyed preserving that little air of mystery around her by simply accepting that whatever she did _must_ have a magical purpose. 

After grappling with the lock on her front door for an embarrassingly long few minutes, Nyn kicked it open and dropped her purchases on the table, heading straight into the bedroom to check the egg. To her delight, a long, thick crack had made its way around a good third of the circumference of the shell. There wouldn’t be too much longer now, the infant clearly eager to get out of the confines of the egg. 

“Whenever you’re ready, little one, I’ve got some breakfast for you.” She sang, adjusting the egg so the cracked portion wasn’t buried in the bedding. With any luck, the dragonlet would be free before Nyn headed to bed, and she wouldn’t be forced to stay up through the night. Her gaze landed on the note that had been with the egg, sitting folded on her desk. She hummed thoughtfully as she looked back at the egg, which had begun to tentatively squeak after she spoke to it. 

“Are you Kin?” She murmured, watching the egg wiggle ever so slightly in its sock nest as the baby inside struggled to push at the shell surrounding it. Moving suddenly, Nyn stood and dusted her hands off. There was no point in sitting here watching the infant work its way free; it would be hours yet before it got out, and she was hungry besides. Nyn might as well do something productive and make herself lunch while she waited. 

She checked in on the egg throughout the day, watching it progress with a careful eye to make sure it didn’t give up part the way through. She began encouraging the dragonlet inside as the hours dragged on, telling Kin to keep working at it and heaping praise on the infant every time the cracks progressed. One particularly long rest period had Nyn a bit worried, but when she spoke to Kin, the baby offered a few exhausted squeaks that reassured her enough to go out to the garden to do a bit of planting now that the sun had begun to sink towards the horizon. When she got back inside, sweaty and with dirt caked under her nails and up to her elbows, the first thing she heard was a triumphant squeak that had her stumbling in her haste to get into the bedroom, all thoughts of washing up first flying clean out of her mind when she saw the eggshell sitting in two pieces in the sock nest and a tiny, rather squished looking dragonlet tangled in a sock and staring up at her with big amber eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment, both silent, before the baby shook itself within the sock confines and squeaked demandingly. 

Nyn laughed, the sound rather bubbly with her excitement as she stepped over and scooped the baby up, carefully extracting it from the sock. Kin gave the sock a rather haughty look for how new to the world it was, then turned back to look at Nyn curiously. One tiny paw rested on her thumb, needle sharp claws pricking at her skin, and the baby nosed at her palm for a moment before licking the dirt on her hands. Nyn snorted and brought Kin up to rest against her chest, bringing them both out into the kitchen. Kin clung to her shirt easily, grip strong enough that Nyn was able to let go and wash her hands off. 

“Hello, baby.” She said softly, tilting her head to press her cheek to the infant’s head. Kin made a rumbly little sound, high pitched but unmistakably a baby’s attempt at a purr. 

The dragonlet was, so far as Nyn could tell, as healthy as hoped - no twisted limbs from being in the egg for so long, breathing clear and easy, eyes bright, and movements unsteady but not worryingly so. Kin’s lungs were definitely working, if the constant stream of baby talk the dragonlet kept up was any indication. Nyn had absolutely no hope of understanding it, but she listened all the same, nodding at appropriate points and petting Kin’s little head. The dragonlet was absolutely gorgeous, with black gilt scales and tiny wings that looked like they’d been dipped in liquid gold. 

Soon enough the bed was cleaned up, the shell rinsed out and set on a shelf to dry out. Keeping the shell appealed to the nostalgic part of Nyn, and Kin had gotten rather distressed when it looked like she was about to toss the shell out. Kin began yawning not even an hour after hatching out, barely staying awake long enough lap up half an egg before curling up in Nyn’s lap and falling asleep between one breath and the next. 

Nyn carefully brought them both to bed, laying Kin on her pillow to free her hands as she went around, changing and blowing out candles before slipping in next to the baby and falling asleep within moments. 

* * *

The next day dawned clear and bright, and Nyn knew that because she was awake to see the sun break the horizon, thanks to a very excitable infant flinging its tiny, scaled body over her face as soon as the sky began to lighten. Nyn stifled a yawn as she finished up breakfast, setting a little ramekin of egg out for Kin next to her own seat. Kin ate so fast Nyn was a little worried she’d have to save the little thing when it went down the wrong pipe, but Kin managed to finish it off without choking, to her relief. 

Nyn put her hair up in a half updo today, leaving the rest down for Kin to play with. The dragonlet was infatuated with her hair, tugging on strands and hiding in it to poke a little nose out and snort happily when Nyn would look down and tap it lightly. 

Nyn didn’t know enough about dragons to tell if Kin was male or female, and she certainly wasn’t going to subject the baby to the indignity of being flipped over to try to check. She hummed a simple tune to Kin, laughing when the baby tried to squeak it back, tripping over the notes and wiggling with pride at the end. 

“I need to drop this off at Aosa’s, do you want to come with me?” She asked Kin seriously, showing the dragonlet the wrapped bundle of medicine and salves that were meant to help Aosa’s back pains. Kin squeaked gravely in acceptance and dug tiny claws into the fabric of her sleeve. Nyn grinned and lifted, cradling Kin against her body and heading out down the path into town. 

The delivery went well, Aosa’s son just old enough to understand the concept of gentle touch when he asked to pet Kin. Aosa didn’t question the presence of a dragonlet, and thanked Nyn profusely for the assistance. Nyn accepted it with as much grace as she could and left with a wave and a reminder to let her know _before_ Aosa ran out of salve again, not three days after. 

Nyn made it to the fountain in the center of town, enjoying the sun, when a sharp prickle of claws on her shoulder made her start and look down at Kin, who had gone stiff. Frowning, she followed the baby’s wide eyed stare to the edge of the fountain, where Adrae was sitting, staring back with eyes just as wide - and the same shade of amber as Kin’s. 

Mouth forming a small _o_ of sudden comprehension, Nyn made her way over to Adrae and stood in front of her, hands on her hips. “You wouldn’t happen to know Kin, would you?” 

The last thing Nyn had expected in response to that was for tears to well up, Andrae's perpetual look of anger disappearing in favor of relief so stark it was almost painful. 

“By the gods- you _found him,”_ Adrae croaked, reaching out to the baby, who reached back with tiny paws and patted her fingers. 

Nyn carefully lifted Kin from her shoulders and cupped him in her hands, holding him out to greet Adrae properly. Adrae’s hands shook as she gently brushed her fingers over his head, framing the tiny nubs where his horns would grow in later. 

“Who is he?” Nyn asked softly, bringing Adrae’s attention back to her. 

“He’s my baby brother - I thought I wouldn’t be able to see him again, I left him with the faeries and a note for him written in haste, but when I did return despite my expectations, he was-” she sounded a bit choked, “he was _gone.”_

Nyn winced. “Sorry?” She offered, shifting Kin in her hands to cup one of her own under Adrae’s and gently poured the dragonlet into her palm. Kin squeaked at Adrae, tail wrapping around her wrist for balance as he reared up to look at her. Nyn kept her hands under Adrae’s to steady them. The poor woman was still trembling faintly, deeply affected by seeing Kin. “I found his egg in the woods when I was getting mushrooms, and I brought him back cause I thought he was a rock. I didn’t realize there was someone who’d be coming back for him.” 

Adrae brought her hands in close to cradle Kin against her chest and looked up at Nyn with the most sincere look of gratitude she’d ever seen. _“Thank_ you,” she breathed, reaching out. Throwing caution to the wind, Nyn took her hand and was pulled in for a crushing hug, Adrae resting her head on top of Nyn’s for a moment before stepping back. “I don’t- I wouldn’t want to- I’m not sure where to go, where I’d take him.” She confessed. 

Nyn rolled her eyes and caught Adrae’s hand again. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said briskly. “I put all that work into making sure he hatched, I’m certainly not letting you run off with him now all half cocked just because you’re his sister.” Kin coughed out what was definitely a laugh as Nyn tugged Adrae along towards her house. “My home isn’t enormous, but it’s large enough for two - and Kin, of course. You’ll stay with me until you figure out where you want to go from here, if that works for you.” 

Adrae was helpless to do anything but laugh, a little on the edge of hysterical with relief and happiness as he cradled her baby brother close to her body and let the vivacious witch who’d returned him lead her on. “Yeah,” she said breathlessly. “Yeah, that works.” 

**Author's Note:**

> as always, if you'd like, you can find me [over on tumblr!!](http://duisarcus.tumblr.com/) I've also got some info in my ao3 profile if you wanna check it out :D


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